Staff

Front Office

Patrick J. Johnson

President

Johnson, as a senior at nearby Redlands High School, earned All-Citrus Belt League and Honorable Mention All CIF honors, and was a member of the Tacoma News Tribune’s Western top 100 list, and team MVP in his only year of playing running back for the Terriers. On the track as a junior in 1993, Johnson managed to finish fourth place in the 200-meter final at the CIF State Track and Field Championships in what was his first season participating in high school track and field. During his senior campaign, Johnson had over 1000 all-purpose yards as the starting halfback for the Terriers, and was amongst the nation’s elite prep sprinters. Johnson led all national preps in both the 100 and 200 meters for most of the 1994 season and notched impressive wins at prestigious California and national prep track and field meets, the Arcadia Invitational (200m), Golden West Invitational (100, 200m) and the National Scholastic Outdoor Championships (200m). Later that summer, Johnson represented the United States by running third leg in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics where they garnered a silver medal.

Patrick went on to become a successful two-sport athlete at the University of Oregon, majoring in Journalism and Communications and excelling in both football and track and winning numerous accolades and championships during his collegiate athletic career. As an Olympic caliber sprinter, Johnson won the Pac-10 Championships in the 400 meters, became an NCAA All-American at 100 and 200 meters, and defeated the legendary Carl Lewis in a 100-meter race at the Drake Relays in 1995 all in his freshman year. As an all Pacific 10 /All American wide receiver and kick returner on the gridiron at Oregon, he was the Offensive MVP of the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl, and was also a member of UO’s 1994 Rose and 1995 Cotton Bowl teams. Johnson was the 42nd overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft and earned a Super Bowl ring when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34 -17 in Super Bowl XXXV. Mr. Johnson, 44, also attended the Craig James Broadcast School in 2001.

As a businessman, Johnson has held C-Level positions in the oil and gas, consumer products, and nutraceutical industries in both public and private sectors, as well as consulting in the private equity, mining, gaming, entertainment, internet, construction and corporate finance industries. Patrick has assisted several charities and non-profit organizations with his volunteer efforts. During his NFL career, Patrick pledged money for the Baltimore Ravens/Police Athletic League Challenge of Champions, and also modeled in a Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Show to help raise money for the Living Classrooms Foundation of Baltimore, He also spearheaded the fifth annual “Baltimore Reads Books for Kids Day” at Baltimore Polytechnic High School in 2000, helping the group collect nearly 25,000 children’s books that were distributed to low-income families. In 2003 while playing for the Washington Redskins, he interned with GOPAC, a political action committee designed to train candidates for grassroots-level campaigning.

Show less

John Di Girolamo

Special Advisor to the President

John Di Girolamo is an experienced investor and entrepreneur with over twenty years of global business experience in public and private investments, building businesses and creating shareholder value. His experience includes operational management, investment banking, strategic acquisitions and investments, international business development, and merchant banking across many sectors.

John is currently the Managing Partner and Chief Compliance Officer of Liberty North Capital Corporation in Toronto. In this role, he structures the financing of both private and public transactions, acts as an advisor to numerous companies, and oversees the firm’s compliance obligations. More recently, he has been involved in various transactions in the legal cannabis sector, helping raise capital for his clients, providing advisory services, and overseeing the structuring of mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Di Girolamo has chaired seminars in partnership with other organizations, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, educating others on how to take companies public in Canada. His background includes serving as President of Investment Banking for a boutique investment bank, with previous positions as a trader and investment advisor.

Show less

Rory Dairy

VP of Operations

Rory Dairy attended the University of Oregon from 1988 to 1991 where he was a team captain and starting strong safety for the Ducks. After college, he had brief stints in the NFL and the AFL.

Rory went on to work as an academic advisor and counselor for general undergraduate student athletes attending the University of Oregon, and created an admissions program called the “next-step” program that targeted high school adjudicated students going through adversities with a chance to qualify for enrollment at the University of Oregon. He also supervised the 6% program that was designed to assist student-athletes towards graduation.

Dairy has also worked in the field of mortgage and lending since 1998, and was also a Multnomah County Justice Department Probation Officer where he provided caseload management for 160+ adjudicated youth & adults and supervised cases from time of conviction to diversion programs and expungement.

Dairy has provided various training and technique philosophies to collegiate and professional football athletes throughout their careers as student-athletes as well as in the NFL, CFL and AFL as well as mentoring to many coaches. He has organized practice plans, created lineups, and attended clinics to learn the ongoing evolution of football terminologies, foundational principles, and game formats.

Rory is currently the Head Football Coach of the X League/ Extreme Football League’s LA Black Storm, and a LAPD Southwest Traffic Division Motorcycle Traffic Officer. Dairy also provides a variety of security solutions for personal and business protection such as undercover protection to full armed motors, patrols and traffic control throughout Los Angeles County.

Rory also presided as the ASB Student President while at Compton High School.

Show less

Akili Smith

VP of Player Personell

Akili Smith was born in San Diego, California and was a standout football and baseball prospect at Lincoln High School, also the alma mater of Pro Football Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis. Smith was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh round (206th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft and played for the Gulf Coast League Pirates from 1993–1994, and the Erie SeaWolves of the New York–Penn League in 1995.

Akili eventually decided to pursue his football interests and attend Grossmont Junior College for two years prior to transferring to the University of Oregon in 1997 and came into the national spotlight of draft discussions because of his performance in his senior season at Oregon in 1998, throwing 30 touchdown passes in only 11 starts in college. Smith received the CO-Offensive Player of the Year award for the Pac-10 during his 1998 senior campaign.

Cincinnati Bengals

Smith was drafted 3rd overall in the NFL draft and missed a large portion of training camp during his rookie season in 1999 due to contract disputes. On August 24, 1999, he signed a seven-year contract worth up to $56 million with a $10.8 million signing bonus.

During the four years he was with the Bengals, he started in 17 games and threw five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, eventually leading to his release on May 31, 2003.

In 2003, Smith tried out for the Green Bay Packers, as Brett Favre’s backup. He was, however, unsuccessful there and was later released. In 2005, he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a stint in NFL Europe where he started four games for the Frankfurt Galaxy.

On April 28, 2007, Smith signed a two-year contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, where he was expected to compete for the starting quarterback position with former NFL player, Henry Burris. In his first regular season action, Smith replaced Burris in the second quarter against the Toronto Argonauts finishing 6-of-10 for 63 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. With the impending return of a healthy Burris, the Stampeders released Smith on October 10, 2007.

Show less

Alquentin Harley

VP of Corporate Development

Alquentin Harley was a high school baseball All American drafted straight out of Sheldon High School in Eugene Oregon by the Houston Astros in the 5th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. While in high school Harley was awarded Oregon Baseball Player of the Year from 1988-1990 and had the 2nd highest batting average of all time. In 1994 Harley was traded to the San Diego Padres organization where he played for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes leading the team with the highest batting average propelling his team to the California League Championship that year. During his tenure with the Quakes, Harley represented the organization in various baseball youth camps all over the country. Harley returned to Sheldon High School in 2010 as the assistant baseball coach where he stayed until 2014. During those four years they won two state titles.

From 2008 to 2010 Harley has conducted business to business telephone sales with Quality Financial Group contacting new and existing customers to discuss how their needs could be met with specific products and services while managing accounts with the highest sales volume. In 2019 Harley worked with CBDISCOVERY acquiring new dispensaries, scheduling events, and delivering product from Cottage Grove to Ashland Oregon using the OLCC Metric system to keep track of consistency in both quality and weight.

In 2010 Harley founded Qreative Partnerships, a firm in Eugene, Oregon which specializes in QR code specific marketing. The firm has worked with multiple Pac12 schools such as the University of Oregon and the Building Business Leaders project, a cohort program that aims to attract and retain students from underrepresented minority groups. Harleys company, Qreative Partnerships won the Entrepreneur Award in 2012.

From 1990 to present Harley continues to help put on multiple baseball and sports camps all over America, such as the Harold Reynolds Baseball Camp where he instructs kids on infield fundamentals and the mental aspects of baseball. Harley also loves running and hanging out with his two sons.

Show less

Coaching Staff

Saladin McCullough

Running Backs

Saladin is a former running back who played three seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He first enrolled at Pasadena City College before transferring to El Camino Junior College and lastly the University of Oregon. McCullough was also a member of the Los Angeles Dragons and Los Angeles Xtreme. His brother Sultan McCullough played in the NFL for the Washington Redskins.

Early years
McCullough played high school football at John Muir High School in Pasadena, California where he established himself as a local prep legend, and one of the most sought after players in the country in 1993. McCullough set career school records by accumulating 4,429 rushing yards, 73 touchdowns and 5,748 all-purpose yards for the Mustangs.

College career
McCullough played for the Pasadena City Lancers of Pasadena City College in 1994, recording 725 yards and six touchdowns in seven games and with El Camino Junior College in 1995, where he rushed for 1,090 yards and 12 touchdowns in ten games with 8.4 yards per carry.

McCullough played for the Oregon Ducks of the University of Oregon from 1996 to 1997. He set a school record for rushing touchdowns by scoring fifteen in seven games in 1996, earning honorable mention All-Pac-10 accolades. He recorded 1,343 rushing yards on 267 carries his senior year in 1997. McCullough also scored a 93-yard return for a touchdown on the first kickoff of the Ducks’ 1997 season.

Professional career
McCullough played in one game for the Edmonton Eskimos during the 1999 season. He played for the Los Angeles Dragons of the Spring Football League in 2000 and McCullough was selected by the Los Angeles Xtreme with the 464th pick in XFL Draft. He recorded five rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown for the Extreme in 2001. In the CFL McCullough played in thirteen games for the Calgary Stampeders in 2003, recording 734 rushing yards and three touchdowns and also accumulated 298 receiving yards on 32 receptions. McCullough also played in one game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the 2004 season, and spent the pre season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2002, but was released

Show less

Ray Cheetany

Kicking

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Ray Cheetany began his college career at Iowa Central Community College, but then signed with UNLV in 1998 and played football for NFL and NCAA Hall of Fame Coach John Robinson from 1999 to 2000, and played his final game for UNLV in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2000 where the Rebels shocked the Arkansas Razorbacks 31-14.

During his Junior campaign, Ray was named one of the Top 10 Special Teams Players in the nation by Sports Illustrated and In 2000, as a Senior, he was named First Team All American Punter by Street & Smith’s Magazine. His attitude made the 5’11”, 180-pound punter/kicker a personal favorite of John Robinson who told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Ray is a great competition guy. He is a natural athlete. If his heart was in a tailback or quarterback, he’d be a Heisman (Trophy) candidate.”

Ray was also recognized as the highest graded player at his position by National Football Scouting Inc. In 2001, he signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans.

Because Las Vegas was the city that captured Ray’s heart early on, he has continued to live there full time since 2002. He continues to believe that Las Vegas has everything a “normal” city has – and a whole lot more. Everything is open 24/7, and Las Vegas is close to everywhere – you can be in the snow or water in 30 minutes.

Las Vegas has been great to Ray Cheetany and his family. For that reason, he continues to be heavily involved with UNLV Football by serving on the UNLV Football Foundation as a board member, keeping in touch with former Rebels, and attending as many home games, and even away games, as possible.

As to his business career, Ray currently serves as Nevada State Manager for Sapporo USA.

Show less

Medical Staff

Gilbert Saldivar

ATC- Head Athletic Trainer/ Medical Coordinator

Gil has been with the LA Black Storm Football Organization for 5 years and provides:

Coverage for practices and games
Traditional athletic training services
Intern athletic trainers on game day
Treatment and rehabilitation services that are well within his scope of practice
Schedules appointments for athletes requiring further evaluation and diagnosis
Doctor-prescribed rehabilitation services to athletes
Schedules game day medical coverage to all participating teams for all home games and playoffs.

Kerlan Jobe Foundation

Medical Partner

Kelan Jobe has been the official Medical Partner of the Los Angeles Black Storm for almost two years providing pre-participation physical exams for all team members and Provides medical staff coverage for game day coverage, which includes:

Orthopedic Surgeon
Neurologist
Internal Medicine Specialist
Provides all staff with a meeting room for meetings, conferences and film sessions
Proves injury tracking software to team so that athletes can track all injuries and, if necessary, can be referred to appropriate medical staff
Provides a volunteer athletic trainer for game day

United Chiropractic and Sports Medicine

Chiropractic

United Chiropractic Sports Medicine has been the LA Black Storms’ official Chiropractic Services provider for over 5 years. They provide In-Season and Off-Season medical services, which include:

Chiropractic evaluations and services
X-rays
Auxiliary services such as Acupuncture & massage services.

Martin Garcia

CMT/LMT

Martin has been the LA Black Storms official Massage therapist for three years and provides post-practice massage sessions as well as dynamic warm up and stretching on game days using massage. Martin also provides additional massage staff (between 5 and 6 other massage therapy interns) so all game day participants receive adequate and timely sessions.